O. POSSUM GETS SICK

When Tom Wildcat smiled and spoke¹ about having all those nice vegetables for dinner, Doctor Rabbit knew well enough that he didn’t ever eat any such things. No, sir; all Tom Wildcat wanted was Doctor Rabbit. But Doctor Rabbit was just as cunning² as was Tom, so he said, “It’s very kind of you to invite me over to dinner, Friend Tom, very kind, I am sure; but the fact is, I won’t have time. I really am too busy.”

“A good deal of sickness in the Woods, I suppose,” Tom Wildcat said, as pleasantly as could be.

“Yes, quite a good deal,” said Doctor Rabbit; “especially a good many accidents, lately.”

Tom Wildcat was so angry for a minute[Pg 39] that he almost forgot to smile. He knew what Doctor Rabbit meant by accidents. He meant Tom’s getting his foot bitten by Farmer Roe’s big dog, and his falling into that hole. But by very hard work, crafty³ Tom did manage to keep on smiling as he said, “Well, I shall have to be going on, then. Possibly you can come over some other time and take dinner with me. Good morning, Doctor Rabbit!” And Tom Wildcat trotted⁴ off.

When he had disappeared, Doctor Rabbit sat down in his big chair and laughed and laughed. It would have made anybody laugh to see how hard it had been for Tom Wildcat to smile when Doctor Rabbit spoke about so many accidents lately.

There was a great deal of excitement among the little creatures of the Big Green Woods now. It was bad enough[Pg 40] to know that Tom Wildcat had come over from his hollow⁵ tree near the Deep River, but it was worse still to think that he had fallen into that hole and climbed out again.

Of course, they all had to go right on eating, because nobody can live without eating. And there was where the little creatures were in great danger. They were generally hunting something to eat, and there was always someone like Tom Wildcat watching for them, ready to pounce⁶ upon them.

The next day Doctor Rabbit was called to see O. Possum, who was sick. Mandy Possum came over in a great hurry and said O. Possum was having a severe⁷ pain in his stomach. Doctor Rabbit got his medicine case and went over to the Possums’ house with Mandy Possum as fast as he could.

[Pg 41]Mandy said they would go in the nearest way, which was through the kitchen. She asked Doctor Rabbit to excuse her kitchen, as she had not had time to clean it up. Then as they went through the parlor⁸, she told him to excuse that too, as she hadn’t had time to clean that up. As they passed through two other rooms, she said to excuse them; she knew they were pretty dirty, but she had not had time to clean them up. But Doctor Rabbit didn’t say anything, because no matter what time of day he came to Mandy Possum’s house, she always asked him to excuse the dirt, and always said she hadn’t had time to clean it up. Man doctors sometimes find it that way, too.

Well, they finally came to O. Possum, who was off in a corner bedroom. He lay in bed with some turpentine and a[Pg 42] hot stove lid⁹ on his stomach. He began to groan¹⁰ terribly when Doctor Rabbit came in. “Oh my, oh my,” he groaned¹¹, “I know I’m going to die! Yes, I can feel it, and my wife wants me to die; she’s got turpentine and a hot stove lid on my stomach, and I’m roasting¹² alive. Oh dear! Oh dear!”

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 cunning   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；n.狡猾，奸诈

参考例句：

• A spy used cunning means to find out secrets.间谍使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• The fox is known for its cleverness and cunning.狐狸的机敏和狡猾是人所共知的。

3 crafty   

adj.狡猾的，诡诈的

参考例句：

• He admired the old man for his crafty plan.他敬佩老者的神机妙算。
• He was an accomplished politician and a crafty autocrat.他是个有造诣的政治家，也是个狡黠的独裁者。

4 trotted   

小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
• Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。

5 hollow   

adj.空的，中空的，空心的；空洞的，无价值的

参考例句：

• The boys scraped out a hollow place for planting trees.那些孩子挖了个坑准备栽树。
• Bamboo is a sort of hollow plant.竹子是一种中空的植物。

6 pounce   

n.猛扑；v.猛扑，突然袭击，欣然同意

参考例句：

• Why do you pounce on every single thing I say?干吗我说的每句话你都要找麻烦？
• We saw the tiger about to pounce on the goat.我们看见老虎要向那只山羊扑过去。

7 severe   

adj.严格的，凶猛的，严肃的，严重的，严厉的，朴素的

参考例句：

• The severe storm did for most of the crops.猛烈的暴风雨毁掉了大部分庄稼。
• The pace was too severe to be kept up for long.跟上这步伐太难了，无法持久。

8 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？

9 lid   

n.盖子，眼睑；v.加盖，盖上；制止，取缔

参考例句：

• She shut the lid down.她扣上了盖儿。
• Put the lid on the garbage can.把盖子盖在垃圾筒上。

10 groan   

vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音

参考例句：

• The wounded man uttered a groan.那个受伤的人发出呻吟。
• The people groan under the burden of taxes.人民在重税下痛苦呻吟。

11 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 roasting   

adj.用于烤炙[烘焙]的；燥热的，灼热的n.严厉批评；受到严厉批评v.烤，烘，焙( roast的现在分词 )；嘲讽；（对某人）非常生气，严厉批评

参考例句：

• a roasting hot day 酷热的一天
• The sun was roasting us. 太阳火辣辣地炙晒着我们。 来自《简明英汉词典》